Around 3:30 or so Saturday afternoon, the headsets are almost certain to go silent for the head coaches on Virginia and Virginia Tech's sidelines for the last time in Charlottesville.

One by choice. The other not so much.

After his news conference Nov. 2 to formally announce his retirement, Frank Beamer will coach his final regular-season game Saturday in his 29th season at Virginia Tech (5-6, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) when the Hokies take on U.Va. in Scott Stadium.

Across the field, Coach Mike London's sixth season at U.Va. is likely to end with his firing soon after the game, regardless of whether the Cavaliers avoid a 12th consecutive loss to their biggest rival.

"Obviously, there is no doubt it was a challenging season," said London, who mentioned Monday he was approaching this week as "business as usual" despite speculation regarding his shaky job status. "We had a very challenging schedule. We've played in a lot of close games.

See Mike London's career at Virginia and Richmond in pictures.

"Now, coming down the stretch, this being the last game opportunity, you're playing against your in-state rival. It has been talked about as far as how many games they've won (against U.Va.) what's going on with the Hall of Fame coach's career and things like that. … It's been (a season) that we've met face-on and dealt with adversity and deal with the resilience of players."

Despite both teams' lack of success this season, there is plenty riding on the outcome of the annual matchup. For the third time in the last four seasons, Tech has to beat U.Va. (4-7, 3-4) to earn bowl eligibility.

Tech is looking to get to six wins to ensure it qualifies for a bowl for a 23rd consecutive season, the longest such streak recognized by the NCAA. With only 71 teams boasting at least six wins before Friday's games, there's a decent chance Tech could get one of 80 available bowl slots even if it doesn't beat U.Va.

Not only would a U.Va. win snap the longest skid in the history of the rivalry, it also would help the Cavaliers finish with at least five wins at home in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2004 and 2005 seasons. A U.Va. victory would give it a .500-or-better record in the ACC for just the second time in the last eight seasons.

While Saturday's game will mark the end of the line in the regular season for Beamer, and probably London's last game leading U.Va., it also could be the final time longtime assistant coaches Bud Foster, Charley Wiles and Bryan Stinespring work a game for Tech.

The trio of assistant coaches have spent a combined 83 seasons working on Beamer's staffs, including Foster's six seasons working under Beamer when he was the coach at Murray State (1981-86).

"(All of Tech's assistant coaches) were the first people I told," Beamer said regarding his retirement plans. "I'm hoping that things will happen for most of them, if not all of them, to stay (in Blacksburg). That would be my hope, but they know in this business when you get in it, you kind of know things happen from year-to-year.

"That's the tough part. There's a lot of families, a lot of kids who have gone to school here their whole life and so forth. Trust me, I put a lot of thought into the decision before I made it, because I knew it wasn't just me and my family. There's nine coaches there that I'm concerned about."

Since Foster became Tech's defensive coordinator in 1995, the Hokies have won 17 of 20 games against the Cavaliers. During Tech's 11-game winning streak, U.Va. has had 142 possessions, but it has only reached the red zone 21 times (14.8 percent). It has scored on just 14 of those 21 red-zone opportunities (66.7 percent).

"This (rivalry) has really turned out to be just not only an important game from a recruiting standpoint, but an important game in your status as a conference champion or if you're going to a bowl game," Foster said. "We've kept those guys out (of a bowl) a couple times. I'm sure they want to do that this year to us. Last year was a game that both teams had to win to go to a bowl game. This game, besides this rivalry, it's come into where it's an important game as far as how you feel about yourself and the direction of your program."

While many of the coaching storylines have been built in to this rivalry for at least the last month, there are also some game-specific narratives to watch.

U.Va. will play without starting weak-side linebacker Zach Bradshaw for a second straight game because of a lower-extremity injury. He's fourth on the team with 53 tackles.

U.Va. starting wide receiver Canaan Severin, who is second on the team with 51 catches for 713 yards and seven touchdowns, is questionable because of an upper-extremity injury he sustained in last weekend's win against Duke. He looks forward to facing a Foster-coached defense one last time.

"You want to talk about one of the top defensive coordinators year in and year out, I think Coach Foster's definitely one of them," said Severin, who led U.Va. with four catches for 82 yards last season in its 24-20 loss to Tech. "That's kind of a salute to him, I guess. … I love facing the so-called best. I love competing against the so-called best."

Tech will have to try to keep U.Va. from getting off to a quick start without starting defensive end Dadi Nicolas, who will serve a team-mandated first-half suspension for swiping at and making contact with referee Ron Cherry's left arm last weekend in Tech's 30-27 overtime loss to North Carolina. Nicolas has 38 tackles this season, including 5 1/2 for losses and a sack.

He'll be replaced by redshirt freshman Vinny Mihota, who will make his first collegiate start against U.Va. Mihota's older brother, Anthony, started at U.Va.'s center position for the entire 2010 and '11 seasons, and made his first career start against Tech in 2008.

Controlling the rivalry for more than a decade has given Beamer's program confidence, but there's no assumption of victory Saturday. Just as Tech's players want to send Beamer out with a win, U.Va.'s players aim to do the same for London.

"The most dangerous man in the room is the man with the chip on his shoulder," Tech defensive tackle Corey Marshall said. "They kind of bring that to the table. That's the kind of respect-slash-fear they put in you. You understand that they're hungry. You can't give it up to them. You've got to compete, because over there, they're counting down to the start of this game.

"They circle this every year. Regardless of how their season is going, if they beat us, man, it turns everything a little more positive for them. We have to understand there's a lot on the line for the Virginia Tech community, and we've got to go out there and uphold our end."